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Monday, October 29, 2012

Guest Post: Top Ways to Save So You Can Afford Disney!

Disney offers many surprises, from great times to lasting memories to expensive price tags! To help you better afford your Disney vacation, here are some top tips on how to save money on your everyday life. Track the savings you receive from these tips and earmark the money for your Disney vacation. You will be surprised at how quickly the savings accumulates! Let begin saving:

· Sign up for in-store reward programs. There are a wide variety of programs you can take advantage of. For instance, Best Buy allows their shoppers to sign up for their Reward Zone program. When purchases are made, you receive 1 Reward Zone point per $1 spent. Once you have accumulated enough points, you get a free gift card. This will help you to reduce the cost of future purchases. Also, you may want to consider getting a Best Buy Credit Card. If you typically pay cash for items, if you instead use your Best Buy Credit Card, you receive 2 Reward Zone points per $1 spent. If holding a balance on a credit card is not your style, head straight to the customer service desk and pay off the balance. This will allow you to get the extra points without holding a balance.

· Make purchases of items online and use a company such as eBates.com for making the purchases. Here you can make purchases from most of the popular stores and combine the percentage rebate from eBates.com with any coupons you may have for the store. For instance, if you own a Red Card from Target, you first log in at eBates.com and follow the link to Target. Following the link from eBates.com to Target will allow you to receive an extra 2% back by check at the end of the month on your total purchase. Once at Target.com, find and purchase the items you need. Pay for the items with the Red Card and receive 5% off your purchase automatically AND receive FREE shipping!

· Use Coupons. If you do not receive a newspaper to receive the coupons, many coupons are now available online from websites such as Coupons.com. Here you can find many great coupons that can be used to save you weekly on your grocery bill. Even if you only save $6 off of your weekly grocery bill using coupons for purchases of items you typically buy, that is a total savings per year of over $300.

· As for a discount or if discounts are available. For instance, many medical companies will allow you to receive a discount if you are able to pay off your medical bills in one payment. They only offer the discount sometimes and ONLY if you ask! You can find these discounts on everything from hotel rooms to workout equipment, so ASK!

· Use apps such as PriceCheck by Amazon.com for purchases of larger items. For instance, a few days ago, a game was in Target for $20. I used the PriceCheck app to “scan” the barcode of the item and found that online it could be purchased for $13. Amazon.com offers free shipping for many of its items when purchases cost over $25. I decided to wait to purchase the item online when I have another product to purchase along with this one so I can get the free shipping. $7 off of a $20 purchase is a 35% discount! Pretty good savings!

These are just a few of the suggestions you can use to help you save money. The faster you save money, the faster you can get to Disney! For more great savings tips, be sure to visit Strategies For Paying For Disney for weekly articles giving suggestions on additional ways to save money so you can get to (or back) to Disney!

About Natalie: I live in Tennessee as a wife, mother, writer, and CPA. I enjoy writing articles about Disney and other favorite travel destinations. Find me on Twitter and Facebook. Also, be sure to check out my book Strategies for Paying for Disney where you can learn how to save your money so you can afford the Disney vacation you want! (And she's one of ourMinnie Moms!)

Amy and DisneyDad

Although we have been honored to feature bloggers from several countries, our main team is Amy and DisneyDad. He's been traveling to Walt Disney World regularly since it was just a preview center in an orange grove. As his daughter, I've been to WDW more times than I can count. Thank you for joining us today! ~Amy

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